Let’s say that you found yourself in a possession of a lovely site with an old and dilapidated house. What is the green thing to do? Well, the Riddel Architecture team of David Gole and Emma Scragg decided to take the old house, dismantle it, and create an entirely new one with the materials from the replaced house. Spotted on Dexigner, the resulting Hill End Ecohouse reuses almost 95% of the existing building materials and features photovoltaic and solar-thermal arrays, a rainwater recycling system and smart climate-oriented design.

The 260 square-meter house is located in Hill End, in Brisbane, Australia. The goal was to create a house as stylish and livable as it is environmentally friendly. To achieve this goal, the architects quickly realized that it was imperative to work with their builders, Robert Peagram Builders.

During the deconstruction, they removed windows and doors (pretty much the only items sent for recycling), salvaged timber flooring, and took as much as they could from the structure to save for future reuse. Even the old bathroom floor was recycled to use as pavers in the landscape.

As if reusing close to 95% of the old house wasn’t impressive enough, the design incorporated a rainwater and a greywater system, a design for reducing energy use through daylight and efficient lighting, and even a solar power and solar hot water system. Lest you think that these were just token systems, the combination of bells and whistles and great climate oriented design means that the house is effectively self-sufficient.

Overall a truly amazing, and impressive job by Riddel Architecture. And kudos, of course, to the client for pushing for such a green residence.